Tell me about yourself.

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yeeyeeEM

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With the interview season rolling, I know this question always get brought up. "Tell me about yourself." It's such a broad statement that I thought I'd ask what do PD's or interviewers really want to hear or know about me? Do they want me to talk about where I'm from, my upbringing, what brought me to this specialty? Or do they want me to talk about how fun I am...or my hobbies and interests? I have something that I plan on saying but if there's something people really like to hear, I would like to add that to my blurb. :D

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Each applicant is open to interpret that question for themselves. For me, I plan on talking about things that define who I am and things that I like to do. I don't plan on talking about my grades, board scores, or anything else that is very evident from my paper trail, as these academic accolades do not define who I am or why I am that way :). Maybe I'll talk about my time as a female hand model or my time as a vocal coach to the stars.
 
I ask it as an opening ice breaker question. It lets the applicant talk about themselves and settle in. Hopefully what they have to say is interesting and not in contained in the application.
 
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The first question is always the hardest!
 
I asked it quite often as the first question. I wanted to see what they would focus on. Our program was family oriented and very friendly. I wanted to actually hear about what they did outside of residency, what made them tick. I usually asked them later why they went into EM. I would much rather hear about how you taught dancing during medical school and one of the people that you taught was actually interviewing with you today at the same program. How you met your wife while dancing. Or how you love rock climbing and the hardest was a several day rock climb where you slept on the side of the cliff and took several days to climb. These were all the most interesting interviews and the only part that was in their CV was a small blurb in their hobbies section. I can read the CV and know you did well in medical school, the clubs, the grades, and the rotations. I want to know about you when I ask you, "Tell me about yourself." I want to know that you will fit in with the other residents.
 
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I asked it quite often as the first question. I wanted to see what they would focus on. Our program was family oriented and very friendly. I wanted to actually hear about what they did outside of residency, what made them tick. I usually asked them later why they went into EM. I would much rather hear about how you taught dancing during medical school and one of the people that you taught was actually interviewing with you today at the same program. How you met your wife while dancing. Or how you love rock climbing and the hardest was a several day rock climb where you slept on the side of the cliff and took several days to climb. These were all the most interesting interviews and the only part that was in their CV was a small blurb in their hobbies section. I can read the CV and know you did well in medical school, the clubs, the grades, and the rotations. I want to know about you when I ask you, "Tell me about yourself." I want to know that you will fit in with the other residents.


Very helpful answer. Thank you
 
I ask it as an opening ice breaker question. It lets the applicant talk about themselves and settle in. Hopefully what they have to say is interesting and not in contained in the application.

This is how I approach it. Although I try to be more specific based on what's in the application, some of them are generic enough that you can't do it. I'm not trying to trip people up, I'm trying to figure out what makes you tick and whether or not that will jibe with our program.
 
Hopefully what they have to say is interesting and not in contained in the application.

I can read the CV and know you did well in medical school, the clubs, the grades, and the rotations. I want to know about you when I ask you, "Tell me about yourself." I want to know that you will fit in with the other residents.

How much detail do applicants typically go into, and do you prefer they don't go into their CV at all? And is it pretty much the same formula when we're graduating and looking for that first attending job?

At the medical school admissions level, I always followed the basic formula of opening with "I'm originally from ..., graduated with a degree in ... from the University of ...," threw in a few extracurriculars and tidbits (worked EMS, first college graduate in family, and so on), then said something like, "but beyond the stuff in my application..." and went into a little bit about my family, talked about a sport or two I play and other hobbies, and basically left it at that so the interviewer could ask more about something if he was interested or go into his next question.

I put more enthusiasm and emphasis into the things I enjoyed, but it seems disinterested and bland when it's stripped down and put in writing.
 
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